From the Ashes
by TakeoKamiyo
Summary: Warning: This is a dark story so it is for mature audiences only. Ten years after the Teen Titans, they have been beaten by Slade and he is beginning his take over of the world. Robin has returned after leaving and has changed. Chapter 6
1. Chapter 1

            Okay here is the part of the story that nobody really likes but we all have to do the infamous disclaimer.  I do not own the Teen Titans or any other characters I may happen to use in the course of this fanfiction so you cannot sue me for saying that I do or anything like that.  I do however own my own characters and storyline and I would be very happy if you would not steal those from me.

            I have just gotten into the Teen Titans show recently so I have only seen the later episodes and have missed many of the early ones.  I have done some research on the Internet to try and make up for that but I will probably make some things up.  Just tell me if anything I say is wrong and I'll go back and fix it later.  I have fixed the problem with Robin's alterego name so it is fixed for everyone.

This story takes place ten years after the Teen Titans show takes place so all of the members are now in their early twenties.  Warning: It will be a dark fanfiction so that does mean there will be some more mature topics discussed in this fanfiction to watch out for.  If you are not comfortable with that than please do not read because I do not want to offend anybody.  Anyway please read and review my story because it can only make me better and if anybody does not like my story than I probably won't continue with this.

From the Ashes 

****

Chapter 1

A chill wind blew through the chinks of stone, causing a wail that sounded like the call of the dead.  The huge pile of rubble was all that remained of what used to be one of the greatest buildings in the entire city, the Titan Tower.  What was left of the building had long ago been picked over by scavengers, taking away everything that could be of value, but the pile was still immense.

Part of the pile started to bulge out, small stones and dirt sliding to the side.  There was a small pause before the head of a cloaked person forced its way through the rubble and into the night air.  A quick glance from side to side seemed to tell the figure whatever it wanted and the rest of the person's body forced its way out of the ground.

The figure was dressed in a long black trench coat, cinched around it's waist with another strip of cloth, leaving lower part to flap in the air behind him like a pair of black wings.  If a person looked carefully they could pick out the rough and pitted surface of well-worn body armor underneath the cloak and a belt with several compartments for weapons and tools.  The hood of the cloak obscured most of the man's head in shadows but his black eyes were visible.

The man knelt down beside the tunnel he had just emerged from.  He set to work quickly hiding the entrance to the tunnel and by the time he stood up even a person who knew where the tunnel had been would have a problem finding it.  Water barely rippled as he walked through the shallow water towards the lights of the city.

*****

A woman screamed; her shrill voice carried out to the people on the street where people ignored it and walked quickly past the alley.  It wasn't a good idea for somebody to bother Silas's soldiers when they were in the middle of their fun.  The scream was cut off when a heavy fist smashed her to the ground, blood splashed across the alley wall from her mouth.

"If you shut up you just might like this."  Said the man that had just hit the woman.  He was dressed in the black uniform of one of Slade's soldiers, a fancy, golden S above his heart and the silver starburst symbol of a Lieutenant.  A semiautomatic pistol and a taser were strapped onto his waist.  Another soldier stood behind him over the form of the woman's boyfriend, a sparking taser in the man's hand.  He had stood in the way of what the soldiers had wanted; he might survive.

A wracking sob shook the woman's slim frame and she tried to push herself against the wall to try and get away from the man; he simply chuckled and started to work on taking off his gun belt.  He had succeeded in undoing the buckle when the sound of flesh hitting flesh and the sound of breaking bone stopped him.

"What in the hell are you doing Joe?"  Asked the soldier.

"It isn't Joe."  Said a clam voice behind the lieutenant.  A feeling like ice filled his entire body and his breath caught in his throat; turning he drew his gun.  Only the sight of his partner and the boyfriend met his eyes.  His partner now lay on the ground, blood was running from a deep gash on his forehead and his arm was twisted in an angle that no bone was made to be at.

There was a swish of air above him and the soldier realized what had happened and started to turn.  A thin, metal staff hit his gun hand and the gun spun off into the air.  The staff spun up after the contact, catching the soldier underneath the chin and forcing his head up; the pressure increased and slammed the soldier up against the wall.  A black hooded face filled his vision and the black orbs met his own.

The lieutenant had been in two different wars and had been frightening almost continuously for nearly twenty years.  He had charged straight at machine guns and had seen horrifying things that only war could bring, but nothing scared him worse than those eyes.  They promised death.

"You are one of Slade's soldier's and for that you must die."  The voice was slow and soft.

"No."  Gasped the soldier.  The hooded figure twisted his hand, each in a different direction, and a spring thrust a spike out of the tip of the staff.  Metal slid out of the soldier's throat and he slipped to the ground.

"It's Nightwing."  Joe yelled frantically into his walkie-talkie.  The figure turned, his coat swishing out behind him, and spun his staff so that the spike was pointing down at the ground.  Steel flashed in the moonlight as he brought the weapon up and down, quieting the man forever.  Sirens broke through the night and the figure looked up.  A quick smile worked its way across his face before Nightwing went out into the night to hunt.

*****

Raven pushed a lock o her short purple hair back behind her ear, as she leaned back against the wall, and shoved her hands deep into her pockets.  She had left behind her usual black cloak and leotard for jeans and a tee shirt but like her normal outfit the street clothes were black.  The dark haired girl hadn't changed much over the years since she had been in the Teen Titans; just now barely topping five feet tall, however her figure had definitely gotten more feminine.

A small patrol of Slade's soldiers walked around the corner onto the street and Raven's eyes calmly followed them down the street.  Raven moved her hand behind her back and the tell tale dark glow surrounded her hand, but the patrol walked past without noticing her and the dark spell caster let the glow fade.  Raven wished that there were something that she could do about Slade's soldiers, walking around like they owned the city and taking advantage of whoever they wanted to.  Anger flared up within the young woman and a streetlight above the soldiers blew, showering them with shards of broken glass.

Raven clamped down on her anger, furious with herself that she had lost control, but it was already too late.  The soldiers had formed into a small circle and they had all drawn their pistols.  One of the soldiers had slid what looked like a red visor over his eyes and was scanning the people in the street; the people understood what was happening and the streets were already clearing.  The visors were especially made to find people with special powers and when they found them that meant that a gun battle was about to ensue on the streets.  No one was going to get in the way of that if they could help.

Raven held her position at the wall.  The patrol would find her before she could get out of the way anyway and this way the people on the street wouldn't be in danger for stray gunshots.  A movement above the soldiers drew her attention.  A dark clad figure already in the air, his legs above his head, and his entire body twisting to bring his feet to the ground.  Both of his feet kicked out catching two soldiers of the patrol in their chins and flinging them through the air.  He hit the ground running and a stiff finger jab sent another of the soldier's to the ground with a crushed windpipe.

He was out of the group before the patrol had even realized what had happened.  But they were quickly getting over that shock and two of them were already turning with their guns firing.  Bullets whizzed around the figure, one even putting a hole in his wide flying cloak, as the figure jumped and spun in midair launching something through the air.

Raven's eyes widened as she recognized the design of the things; they were Bird-a-Rangs, heavily modified, but there was no denying the distinctive shape.  The Bird-a-Rangs sunk deep into the chests of the two soldiers, killing them both.  However, the last standing guard had taken Robin's distraction to his advantage and drawn a bead on the young hero.  Fire leapt from the muzzle of the gun and the bullet struck Robin in the chest, though Raven could see sparks fly up as the bullet struck his armor so she was sure he was okay.  Even though it didn't kill him the force of the bullet still made him stagger backwards.

Both of her hands came up above Raven's head and black energy crackled around her hands and from her eyes.  ""Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"  Black light formed around the man's clothes and he started to try and brush it off, not understanding what it really was.  All he had time to do was yell before Raven's power had picked him up and thrown him through the air, hitting a wall head first with a sickening crack.

The dark haired woman nodded with a grim sense of satisfaction and she turned back to face her old friend.  Robin was facing away from her, over the dead and unconscious members of the patrol.

"Robin."  Raven had to fight hard to keep her emotions under control.

"My name is Nightwing.  Robin has been dead ever since Slade killed hi ten years ago.'  He didn't even bother to turn and face Raven but just walked away, and she didn't follow him.

"Starfire is going to want to know about this."

*****

Nightwing moved slowly through the waist deep water, his eyes scanning the area to make sure that nothing was following him.  He could already see the spherical bodies of Slade's hunter robots already in the air but he was pretty sure that none would come over here; after all who was going to check the ruins of what used to be a huge building.  It only took him a couple of minutes to find and clear his tunnel, climb into it feet first, and then hide the tunnel again.  Dirt pressed in on the cloaked figure and he could barely force his way down the tight tunnel.

Nightwing didn't mind the uncomfortable circumstances, however, using the animal like qualities of his life to push away the emotions that constantly struggled inside of him.  After several yards the tight tunnel stated to spread out into a small chamber.  He emerged fully into the chamber and reached down to his waist, flicking on a small light that filled the room with a low, blue glow.  Two large concrete slabs had fallen against each other to form the makeshift chamber in the rubble, and Nighthawk had reinforced the room even more with what had once been the steel girders in the Titan Tower.  Besides a small worktable in the room and a beaten army cot there weren't any other things in the small room.

He undid the clasp on his cloak and the heavy clothing fell to the ground where he just left it.  Nightwing reached up to where the bullet had impacted into his chest and pulled the broken projectile out of the small hole that it had made.  There didn't seem to be any permanent damage but he was pretty sure that he would be sore tomorrow.

He just shrugged the pain away, after fighting for six years he was used to it, and removed his armor and equipment.  The cot creaked underneath him as he lay down and he reached over and turned off the small light on his equipment belt, sending him into darkness.  Black eyes sank shut but sleep would not come to the young man; his mind could not thinking of his meeting with Raven again.

He hadn't seen or heard from any of the Teen Titans since he had left the city ten years ago.  Then he had begun to hear of Slade's growing power, when he had come back to the city to find the Titan Tower in ruins, Slade having destroyed it, and the city under his complete control.  Slade had then begun the purge of anybody with powers.  Normal people were already scared of people with powers, even when they were helping them, and it didn't take much negotiation for the leader's of the biggest countries in the world to let him handle the problem.  With his power dampeners and hunter robots he had done remarkably well, killing every superhero that he could, while gathering the super villains under him.

When he was done the leaders of the free world were indebt to him and he had launched his attack.  It had taken nearly a year for anybody to put up an effective resistance but by that time more than half of the world was under Slade's iron grip.  So Robin had changed his name to Nightwing and begun his attacks on Slade's operations.

He had missed is old friends but he had stayed away from them … for reasons of his own.  Raven's calm demeanor at all times, Beast Boy's crazy antics and funny jokes, the strength and stability of Cyborg, and Starfire …  Nighthawk pushed away those memories, hiding them behind a wall of anger, and turned over onto his side.  The young man slowly fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

            Okay if you want to read the disclaimer I made it in the first chapter so just go back there and read it if you are really that desperate to read it than go back.  I do however want to repeat that I do not want anybody to take my ideas and characters because I would probably break down and cry.

            I want to thank all of the people who have given me reviews because now I know the story is at least something good.  Anyway I have changed Robin's alterego name from Nighthawk to Nightwing because people told me that I had done it wrong.  Thanks for that.  Anyway here is the next chapter so please read and review.

From the Ashes 

****

Chapter 2

            Metal screeched underneath Slade's hands as his fingers tightened on the armrest of his chair, and then gave way as he continued to squeeze.  The soldier in front of Slade stopped what he was saying and started at his leader's hand.  He swallowed nervously as he looked back up into Slade's masked face; Slade had a reputation for killing any of his officers that failed him.

            "You were saying."  Said Slade tossing the twisted piece of metal, that had just been a whole armrest few seconds ago.  The sound of metal hitting the floor reverberated loudly in the soldier's ears like the sound of a coffin landing in the grave.

            "Yes sir.  You see…there was some trouble last night…and…and you see we lost a sum total of twelve soldiers and another six are going to require medical attention for a while."  Sweat had broken out of the soldier's forehead as he watched his leader's hand clench and unclench.

            "Nightwing."  Said Slade simply.

            "Yes, sir."  Slade nodded calmly before he drew the pistol at his side and opened three holes on the soldier's chest.  The man hit the ground with a lifeless thump and two servants dressed in black came away from the walls and pulled the body away.  Slade holstered his weapon and leaned back into his chair.

            Slade's campaign had gone even better than he could have hoped in its first years but now it had hit a snag.  The western world had finally managed to pull together and his armies had draw to a screeching halt only a little to the west of Europe's border with Asia.  But now with the war drawn into a stalemate the many countries that he had quickly taken over had started to rebel against his rule and even in his very capital he was having problems.  Mostly centered on this Nightwing.

            "Commander Triante."

            "Sir." Asked a soldier stepping out of a small hidden recess in the wall.  He was older with gray staining his black hair but his sharp black eyes were still bright with intelligence plus a light black glow around is eyes.  He was dressed in the same black uniform as all of Slade's soldiers except with a golden sunburst pinned to his collar.

            "I want you to take find out anything you can about this Nightwing.  Real name, physical description, and some sort of video tape of his fighting."  Slade turned and looked into the commander's eyes.  "I want you to take care of this personally."

            "Yes, sir."

*****

            Raven glanced around the street quickly before walking out of the rising sunlight and into the door of what looked like an old thrift shop.  The store was filled with racks of dusty old racks full of old clothes that were only a couple of steps above falling apart where they hung.  Shoved against one of the walls were several old pieces of furniture that looked like they hadn't been used in decades.

            The young woman walked to the back of the store and an older man dressed in dirty clothes waved her past.  She opened the door behind the counter and walked into the gloom.  Stairs disappeared into the ground, lit only by a few bare bulbs hanging from the ceiling that only seemed to make the shadows deeper.

            The Teen Titan's had been using this place as a base of operations ever since Slade had destroyed the Titan Tower.  The new base was less obvious than the one before even if it wasn't nearly as nice.  Their operations had also been less obvious than they had before, mostly working to help the people without their powers.  It was just too dangerous to attack anything with the power readers that Slade had made.

            Raven reached the bottom of the stairs and walked up to the heavy metal door.  "It's Raven."  There was an answering beep before the door slid open and Raven walked through the door.  The room beyond was much nicer than the store or the hallway had been, a large carpeted square room with comfortable looking couches and chairs and a regular TV was at the end of the room.  Several doorways led from the room going into bedrooms.

            Starfire was lounging on one of the long couches, running a comb through her fiery red hair.  Raven's friend and fellow Teen Titan had also grown some over the years so she was now about half a head taller than Raven now.  She still had the same happy green eyes though she had let her red hair grow out even longer than it had been before.  She was dressed in the same purple costume that she had worn in the beginning though it was bigger now that she had grown.

            Starfire heard Raven walked in a spun around, a smile working its way across her face, as she saw her friend.  The Tamarian warrior jumped up and wrapped Raven in a crushing hug.  Raven normally didn't care for physical contact, especially hugging, with anybody but the two young women had been grown very close over the years.  Raven allowed herself a slight smile.

            "Did any events happen on your patrol?"  Asked Starfire.

            "Yeah."  Raven sat her friend down and told her about what had happened when she had been on patrol.  Starfire stayed silent during the entire story though Raven could tell she was deep in thought.  "Why wouldn't he find us though?  I'm sure that he could if he wanted to."

            "No he would not."  Said Starfire standing and turning away from Raven.  The dark haired woman blinked in surprise not only because of her friend's words, but Starfire's normally happy voice was close to depressing.  Raven knew that Starfire felt more than friendship for Robin, but maybe it was even deeper than Raven had guessed.

            "Raven I wish to go to bed.  I will see you again when I awake."  Starfire walked into her room and Raven let her friend alone.  The green-eyed warrior obviously needed time to work through the many emotions she had to be feeling.  Following her friend's example Raven went into her room to meditate.

*****

            A booted foot came down slowly, the toe of the boot coming down onto broken stone and dirt, weigh shifting gradually to allow from perfect balance and complete silence.  His weight shifted, bringing the other side of his body forward, and turning him in a slow circle.

            Nightwing suddenly ended the slow pace as his right hand came out in a lightening fast jab that was merely a blur.  He placed his weight onto his left foot and he lifted his right foot into a vicious spin kick.  The young man continued his movements, each and every movement in perfect balance, as the minutes stretched on.

            His came slowly back into a stop, his breathing only a little heavier even though his light clothes were soaked in sweat from his exertions.  Nightwing grimaced in pain as his chest muscles cramped suddenly.  The impact of the bullet last night had left a brilliant purple bruise on his chest and the movements of fighting hurt.  However, his movements were a little slower than usual.

            Nightwing pushed aside those thoughts and put only threw on his heavy cloak and some of his more vital equipment on before slipping up and out of his cave.  The noonday sun was almost painful on Nightwing's eyes glanced around quickly before covering the tunnel entrance.  It only took him a few moments to cross the water and join into the street traffic.  His heavy cloak and deep cowl brought a few stares, but only a few; people not wanting to be seen were frequent enough.

            The young warrior continued to thread his way trough the crowd of people into he arrived at the front of a bright, if dinghy bar called _The Inferno_.  The outside was badly painted with pictures of flames in bright yellows, oranges, and reds but there was still a long line of people.  A single glance and the bouncer at the entrance waved the young man into the club.

            The inside of the club was a dirty place with a constant cloud of smoke hovering just above the people's heads.  Most of the people in the club were at the tables or the bar nursing drinks but there were a few on the small dance floor.  Nightwing only gave all of this a quick glance as his eyes focused on a single man sitting at a table alone.  Wood screeched on the floor as Nightwing pulled a chair back and sat down at the table across from the man.

            The man across from him was older by several years, with a liberal amount of gray spread throughout his hair.  The clothes he wore were of a slightly better cut than anyone else in the club but he wore them like they were made out of the finest silk.

            "Ahhhh, my young warrior friend.  It is good to see that you are still in one piece, I would have expected your death by now."  Said the man in a low voice, his blue eyes sparkling with humor.

            "Yeah, well I guess we can't all get what we want, Guy."  Said Nightwing leaning back in his chair.  Black eyes continued to scan the crowd even as he talked; it did no good to let his guard down for even a moment.  Guy was one of the best information brokers in the entire city and Nightwing knew that he was also one of the best protected.  To kill him would be a great a loss to practically every organization in the city and they made sure to protect their assets.  "You know what I am here for Guy so don't dick around with me.  Times, places, and weaknesses."

            "You know I don't speak business with a man unless I can see his eyes, you know this."  Nightwing glared at the information broker but slid his heavy cowl back.  "That is better.  Now I have something for you that you will be most interested in, I am sure."  Guy pulled a small disk out of his coat and slid it across the table.  "It is somewhat larger than you usually wish for but I think that you will not mind."

            Nightwing reached into his best and pulled out a small disk reader that was practically a floppy drive with a small flat screen.  He slid the disk into the drive and the screen lit up.  Pictures and words scrolled across the screen and he read the information quickly, his eyes widening slightly.  On Nightwing's face that simple twitch was as big a show of surprise as if he had shouted.

            "Is this true?"

            "You know I don't put out anything that is not true.  My word is my bond."

            "Thanks, Guy."  Nightwing slid the disk and the reader into his belt and withdrew a roll of cash.  "The same rate as always."  The young man didn't wait for a reply as he stood.  Guy's hand grabbed his hand and stopped the young man.  Nightwing turned and glared at Guy.  He liked the older man and respected him but this course of action was going to get him quickly killed, and what was more Guy knew that.  That was probably the only reason he didn't die.  Guy got the message however and let go of his hand.

            "Something is strange about this thing."  Said Guy.  "I trust the source enough to give it to you but something tells me this could easily be turned into a ambush."

            "Are you worried?"

            "Only about losing one of my best sources of money I have had in many years.  Plus if you get captured I do not want anything to be traced back to me."  Nightwing nodded once and gave the information broker a small smile before moving back out onto the streets and moving back towards his cave.  He had a lot to do.

*****

            Starfire sighed as her eyes traveled slowly over the city landscape from her perch on the top of a building.  The building she was on was the tallest one for a ways in every direction so she had a great view of everything that was happening in practically every direction.  Mostly, her thoughts were not on the view but on the news that Raven her brought her only that morning.  The red haired woman had spent some time in her room like she had told Raven but after two hours of tossing and turning she had come here.

            The sun was starting to set now and she still hadn't managed to work through her confusing thoughts and feelings.  Robin had left many years ago, throwing Starfire into confusion that time and just when she had been getting over that Robin had resurfaced again.  Starfire sighed again and buried her face into her hands.

            Heavy vehicles moving brought her out of her thoughts.  She moved over to the edge of the building and looked down.  A small convoy consisting of two armored hummers and an even larger armored transport was moving slowly down the streets.  There was a gunner poking out of the top of each of the vehicles, arming the 50cal machine guns perched on the roof.

             A gout of flame shot up around the first vehicle tearing through armor and throwing wreckage high into the sky.  Windows shattered as the concussive wave expanded outwards from the explosion.  The wave struck Starfire and knocked her to the ground.  She was up just as quickly and saw the last of the debris hit the ground.  Soldiers were all ready pouring from the two remaining vehicles but they didn't seem to know what to shoot at.

            Starfire could make a guess.  Her green eyes were all ready scanning the rooftops until she saw a figure dressed in a dark cloak on the opposite building.  "Robin."

*****

            Nightwing grinned slightly at the success of his mine and jumped onto the edge of the roof.  He reached underneath his cloak and pressed the button on top of a small box that was attached there.  Three brief explosions from the box knocked the young man a step backwards and three small missiles shot down at the third vehicle, turning the surrounding soldiers into torches.

            Nightwing jumped from the roof and landed in the midst of the confusion.  The few soldiers still on their feet turned firing; the bullets hitting the street around him and sending chips of cement hit against Nightwing's heavy cloak.  Bird-a-rangs shot out of his hands, cutting into the soldier's necks, and sending them to the ground in a spray of blood.  Smoke pellets followed after the bird-a-rangs, a thick white cloud of smoke rose into the air, obscuring him from view.

            Under the cover of the smoke Nightwing set to work unlocking the back door of the last remaining vehicle.  As the doors flew open a white boot shot forward at his face.  Nightwing crossed his arms in front of him to catch the blow, though I still forced him back a step.  Gloved hands twisted and grabbed onto the ankle of the person, turning with the momentum of the kick he brought the leg up over his shoulder and heaved.  The person went flying over his shoulder and into the smoke.

            Nightwing followed after the person he had thrown, pulling out explosive disks as he ran.  A white glow cut through the smoke and he threw himself to the side as a white beam of energy cut through the air where he had just been and blew the last vehicle over onto it's side.  Nightwing threw the explosive disks but they only exploded against an energy shield.

            The road cracked around the young man and chains of energy shot into the air and wrap around him, binding his arms to his sides.  He didn't even bother to try and struggle against the chains; he knew that he couldn't break free.  The person walked towards Nightwing, the smoke curling up around a pair of long and beautiful legs.  Long blond hair framed the woman's beautiful face and fell down over an almost sheer white dress that hugged her sinuous curves.  Twin blue eyes, like ships of ice stared at him, and as beautiful as the woman was, her eyes could easily scare a man away.

            Her body started to glow, cutting through the smoke, and revealing the destruction.  All of the vehicles were destroyed and still smoking and only a few soldiers were still on their feet and in any type of condition to fight.

            "I'm going to kill this sun of a bitch."  Said one of the soldiers walking past the woman and cocking his machine gun.  She raised one hand and it started to glow with a brilliant white light.  A beam of light disintegrated the top of the man's body and the remaining legs stood up for a few seconds before toppling to the ground.

            "No one touches him."  Said the woman.  Her voice was quiet but it cut like a knife.  The soldiers grumbled but legs missing the rest of the body seemed to stop any of them from saying anything directly.  The soldiers started to move away from the destruction, taking their wounded comrades away.

            "Nightwing, it is good to see you again."  Said the woman turning back to him her voice was deep and sexy now.  She ran a finger down the side of his face and Nightwing had to resist the urge to shiver.  "And still quite handsome."

            "And you're still a beautiful bitch, Quanta."

            She laughed.  "I missed you, you know.  We used to be good together.  A real unstoppable team."

            She started to pace around him; passing through the chains of light as if they were as insubstantial as the light they were made from, and ran her eyes up and down his body.  "Maybe we should work together again.  You can come and work for Slade with me, though this time I'll have to be on top."  She wrapped her arms around him from behind and pressed her body up against his, placing her chin on his shoulder, and blowing seductively against his ear.  This time he could help but shiver.

            "So your Slade's bitch now.  I thought you would never work for somebody."

            "Well, you know, he offered me something I just couldn't refuse.  You."

            "Hell no."  There was an explosion in front of the two, but instead of Quanta's white flash it was bright green.  Starfire landed on the ground in front of them with one fist held towards them and her hand glowing green with her charging starbolt.

            "Let go of him."  Said Starfire, her voice as hard as steel.

            Quanta smiled over Nightwing's shoulder at the other woman.  "Why don't you just scurry away little girl."  The red haired woman fired her starbolt over Nightwing's shoulder but Quanta flipped backwards, the blast missing her neatly.  She landed on her feet lightly and laughed.  Starfire fired multiple times over Nightwing's shoulder again but the starbolts splashed against Quanta's shield.

            "It seems that we have been interrupted.  So, we'll continue this later."  Quanta snapped her fingers and she disappeared into a flash of light.  The chains disappeared into tiny motes of light and Nightwing was released.

            Starfire strode over to Nightwing and kissed him hard.  The kiss wasn't a loving thing but hard and punishing.  She pulled away from him and a sharp punch caught Nightwing across the temple knocking him down.  Black dots swam in front of his eyes and the last thing he saw before he sank into unconsciousness was Starfire grabbing the hood of his cloak.

End Note: Well there is the second chapter.  Again if everybody could please read and review my story I will only make me better.


	3. Chapter 3

The disclaimer crap is all in the first chapter if you really want to read it that badly then go there and read it. I do however wish to repeat that I do own my own storyline and my characters, which right now include Quanta.

I want to thank everybody who has given me a review because it gives me something to strive for. Also thank you guys for correcting some of the things that I've gotten wrong with my story. I've just started watching the show and got the itch to write about it so my facts are a little shaky. Anyway, please read and review because it can only make me better.

From the Ashes 

Chapter 3

"And this is completely accurate?" Slade asked, his eyes following the action playing across the huge screen in front of him. Pictures of Nightwing in his battle against the caravan flashed across the screen.

"Yes, sir." Commander Triante said. "Nightwing fell for the ambush like I predicted and we managed to get this footage."

"Do we have any other information?" Triante flipped through papers on a clipboard he held.

"Apparently Nightwing is formerly the Teen Titan known as Robin. He disappeared shortly before the beginning of your conquest and we have been unable to locate him when we started the purge of the super powered." A silence fell over the room as the older military man stopped talking. Slade leaned forward froze the picture of Nightwing jumping down onto the ground and ran his fingers lightly over the picture.

"Sir. With all due respect I don't understand the trouble. He has been causing trouble, that is certain, but he is just a normal man. He doesn't even possess superhuman abilities."

"That is where you are wrong commander. Robin, now Nightwing, is more deadly that you could ever believe. He is my only miscalculation that I have ever had. You will bring him in commander, now matter what."

Triante shifted uncomfortably as he looked down at his leader. The commander had served Slade without fail since the worldwide campaign had begun and before that, and in those years he had never once questioned the man. But something about the sound of Slade's voice put him on edge. A leader couldn't afford to have anything on his mind except for the objective at hand, but Slade seemed close to an obsession with the Nightwing and that would only hurt the cause.

"Sir … are you sure that this is … wise?"

"Commander, you will do as I say now." Slade's voice was still calm but unbending as steel.

"Yes, sir." Triante inclined his head slightly and walked out of the room.

Nightwing came back into consciousness slowly, trying to figure out where he was without actually opening his eyes. He could remember the fight with Quanta and then Starfire knocking him out but he didn't know where he was now. The air was stale around him so he must be inside a building, and a quick flex told him that his hands and legs were still free to move around, though his weapons and equipment were all gone.

A hand brushed against his wrist and Nightwing exploded into motion. His free hand rifled forward, trying to catch the wrist of the person holding him, but just as his fingers started to close he could feel the person's wrist shrink and slip away. "Hey, dude chill." Nightwing knew that voice.

"Beast Boy?" Nightwing asked in surprise, his eyes snapping open.

"Beast Man now." Nightwing sat up slowly; pain flaring through his head like a red hot knife plunged into his brain and black dots swam across his vision. "You better not move so fast dude. Starfire said that one of Slade's soldiers really caught you in the head."

"Yeah, one of the soldiers." Nightwing rubbed his head where he could feel a bruise starting. His vision was already starting to clear and he looked over at his old teammate. Beast Boy had sprouted in the years and Nightwing guessed that he was half a head taller than Nightwing himself, though still very skinny. He was wearing the same type of clothes but he had a dark gray trench coat thrown over them. Also during the years he had grown a goatee.

"Dude, I haven't seen you in years. I mean ever since you up and left before. I don't think I've ever seen you without your mask either, you look so much more serious without it." Nightwing shook his head as the newly dubbed Beast Man continued to talk. He may be older but he still talked as much as he always had.

Nightwing took the time to glance around the room he was in. Dirty clothes, CDs, and tapes covered every surface in the room, obviously Beast Man's room, and he could see his weapons and equipment thrown on top of a pile of clothes. While his green friend continued to talk Nightwing stood and put his equipment back on. "Dude you need to come see everybody, they've all been waiting like … forever."

With a sigh that was almost inaudible the young fighter nodded his head. He didn't really want to meet that rest of the old team – he had spent long enough trying to forget them – but he wouldn't be able to get out of here without going past them. They walked out into the common room and three heads turned to look.

"Man, it's great to see you." Cyborg said standing and slapping Nightwing on his back, the heavy blow almost knocking him to the ground. The half-human Titan still looked pretty much the same, though his human parts did look older, and some of his cybernetic body had changed.

"It's good to see you in the land of the living." Raven said, nodding her head.

"Now you have to tell us what you've been doing, dude. I had to promise that I wouldn't ask you before we were all together again." Beast Boy jumped over the back of one of the couches and lay down.

"Well, I've been keeping busy. Actually fighting Slade instead of just hiding here in some damn hole while he does what he wants all over the world." The old Teen Titans looked down guiltily, except for Starfire.

"We had what chance?" Starfire yelled, knocking her chair back against the wall as she stood up. Starfire's voice sounded barely on the edge of control and her face was flushed. This was even more surprising than anything they had seen so far, Starfire was usually so happy they didn't think she got angry. "Just four of us against all."

"Forget it I don't have time for this." Nightwing spun and walked towards the door.

"Leave. We do not require your help or your presence." Starfire yelled, turning and walking into her room. Nightwing looked back his face guilty for a second, before walking up the stairs; leaving the three remaining Titans in their seats, gaping in shock.

"I'm confused." Beast Man said.

"Did we miss something between those two?" Cyborg asked, looking around at the remaining people in the room.

"Apparently." Whispered Raven underneath her breath. "We had better follow him; in this state he may be … irrational."

"Damn." Nightwing hissed as he glanced around. He recognized the area, though it would be a long trip back to the remains of the Titan Tower. He couldn't believe he had let himself lose his cool like that, it was just the sight of Starfire plus all of his old friends in one place had disoriented him. The young man cursed again and pulled his cloak closer to his body.

Nightwing started to walk back to the tower when the unmistakable sounds of battle reached the young man and he started running towards it before his brain managed to catch up to his legs. He turned the corner of a building and almost ran directly into the fight. Buildings spread apart in what looked like it had used to have been a park and Slade's robotic soldiers were coming in from every side. A wall of rubble had been stacked to form a rough shield and the soldiers were pounding the rock with hand lasers, blowing chunks of the wall into the air. Every now and then a person would stick their weapon over the wall and shoot at Slade's soldiers.

A beam of yellow energy came from the side and blew a huge hole into the wall, throwing bits of rock and a few bodies into the air. Nightwing looked over at where the beam had come from. "Dr. Light." The old super villain looked worse for wear since Raven had sent him to the mental hospital after their battle. His eyes were wide open and were tinted red and his hair had grown unchecked so that it extended out from underneath his suit's helmet.

"You worthless rebels, you can not stand against the all reveling power of the light. The light shows all." Dr. Light yelled his voice high and cracking. He raised up his hand, yellow energy gathering on the end when a heavy boot smacked into the side of his head, picking the super villain into the air, and dropping him more than a dozen feet away. "How dare you." Dr. Light yelled as he struggled to his feet.

Slade's robot soldiers turned towards the super hero and the sound of charging lasers filled the air. Robin burst into motion, jumping to the side and knocking a robot's head off with a vicious punch. The mad super villain followed after Robin, flinging a blast of energy. Robin dove to the side, the beam passing so close he could feel his hair ruffle from the wind, and hit the ground in a roll. He came up onto his feet just as quickly and brought his bo staff out of his belt.

Dr. Light sent another bolt of energy towards Nightwing but the black hared fighter just batted the blast away. Both of them jumped at each other, bo staff meeting against fists.

The people that had been hiding behind the rubble noticed that they were no longer being fired at and took the opportunity to unleash a deadly barrage. Robots ripped apart from the storm of bullets.

Dr. Light punched forward at Nightwing and he flipped backwards away from the blow but an energy beam flared from the villain's fist and caught the young man in the chest, flinging him to the ground.

"Ha, the light has judged you and you are unworthy." Robots piled on top of him. Nightwing struggled to throw off the robots but there were too many for him to eve shift the huge pile.

The weight on top of Nightwing lifted as the robots were thrown to the side. A green bear was standing on its hind legs over top of Nightwing. Another robot charged up and the bear turned, changing into a gorilla and a punch tore the robot into two. The gorilla changed back into Beast Man.

"You okay dude." Beast Man extended a hand.

"I'm fine." Nightwing whipped out a Bird-a-Rang up over Beast man's should and caught one of Slade's robots in the face. Nightwing stood to his feet and retrieved his dropped bo staff. A quick glance around the battle field told him all that he needed to know. Cyborg had taken control over the rebels and was in front of the rubble barricade, firing his sonic blaster into the groups of robots. Raven was making her way through the sea of robots, a globe of black energy protecting her as she made her way towards Dr. Light.

"Try and keep the robots away from Raven's fight." Nightwing said. Beast Man nodded and with a trumpet he changed into an elephant and charged through the robots, Nightwing following after his friends, finishing any robots that managed to survive Beast Man's charge.

"You." Dr. Light yelled, pointing at the approaching woman. His voice was high pitched and his blood shot eyes rolled around in his head. "I'll kill you." The obviously insane man punched his hands forward throwing beams of energy at his opponent.

Raven's cloak flared open and revealed an abyss of darkness and the beams sank into the inside of her cloak. "You can't even control yourself how are you supposed to kill me." The purple hared woman's eyes turned white and black energy crackled around the edges of her flared cloak. Black tentacles shot out from the darkness inside her cloak and slapped out at her adversary. Yellow light exploded from the man's body and the tentacles disappeared in that flash of light.

With a howl Dr. Light jumped forward and wrapped his hands around Raven's throat, smashing them both to the ground. He twisted his hands and drove his thumbs into Raven's windpipe, shutting off her air. Energy flared around Raven's eyes and an arm ripped off of one of the robots before slamming into Dr. Light's face. Blood flew from his mouth and splashed across the young woman's face, but his grip only tightened with the strength only the truly insane could muster. Raven continued to attack with the arm but it didn't seem to have any affect on the obviously deranged man.

Dots swam across Raven's vision and her lungs burned from lack of air. She tried to hit Dr. Light with whatever she had but she couldn't get enough control over her thoughts to bring her powers to bear. The sound of the robot's arm hitting the ground rang in her ears like the sound of the last nail being placed into the coffin. She was going to die and there was nothing she could do.

Nightwing and Beast Man had gotten bogged down before they had managed to get close to Raven's fight. Robots had piled in on the pair and they were now back to back with Beast Man in his gorilla shape.

"We need to back up Raven." Nightwing yelled over the sounds of ripping metal. Nightwing spun underneath one of the shape changers huge arms and stabbing his staff upwards. The fighter twisted his hands and the staff's spike sprang from the tip of his staff and led the way into a robot. "Throw me."

Beast Man grunted in response as he grabbed a robot and threw it into the masses surrounding them and buying them some time. The gorilla wrapped his huge hands around Nightwing's waist and tossed him high into the air. From his new height he could see the trouble that Raven was in. As he started to fall he pointed his staff straight down.

Raven continued to weakly swing at Dr. Light with her fist even though she knew it was doing no good. The world was swimming in front of her and the only thing she could focus on was the laughing mouth of her enemy. Dreamily she watched as he stuck his tongue at her. It was funny as she died the world suddenly seemed to come back into crystal sharp focus. It almost looked like his tongue was a spike.

She blinked as she realized that it was an actual spike. It was then she realized that the madman's hands had loosened on her throat and she fell into a fit of coughing as air flooded back into her lungs. Dr. Light's body was thrown to the side and more blood splattered across Raven. Nightwing stood over his friend, blood dripping down spike of his staff and even more splashed across his armor. His face was completely impassive and he turned joined back in the fight.

"You killed him." Raven said, more to herself than her friend. She wiped her face off with the edge of her blue cloak and stared at the blood soaked cloth. Even Raven wasn't pessimistic enough to believe that Robin could have changed so completely that he could kill with out even a flinch. He had even been the one to save Dr. Light from her when she had been fighting her anger. "Maybe Robin really is dead."

The rest of the fight was over quickly, now that the Titans could focus there attacks only on the robots. The rebels quickly began to pick over the robots for weapons and anything else they could salvage. The Titans had gathered over to the side of the battle.

Beast man, Cyborg, and Raven formed a semi-circle with Robin in front of them and by the two men's stance you could tell that they were angry. Nightwing stood opposite of them with his arms crossed over his chest and glowered at his old friends.

"Dude, I can't believe that you killed him." Beast Boy yelled, throwing his arms up. "I mean geez Nightwing we're the good guys."

"He worked for Slade. He deserved it."

"It doesn't matter. The Teen Titans have never killed one of our enemies on purpose. We ain't that kind of team." Cyborg said, advancing on his friend. "I would think that you of all people would remember that."

"This isn't a bunch of teenagers fighting enemies anymore. This is a war and I'm going to do whatever I have to get Slade and stop him." Nightwing reached inside of his cloak and grabbed something from his equipment belt. Cyborg's hand shifted and brought his sonic blaster out.

"Stop." Energy snapped around Raven and her cloak fluttered outwards. "This is pointless. We need to control ourselves." The group was interrupted from their argument by one of the rebels stepping forward. The rebel was a kid who looked barely over fifteen. He held some sort of old assault rifle underneath one of his arms.

"Are you all really the Teen Titans?" The rebel asked, awe in his voice.

"The one and only." Beast Boy said. He had gone almost at once from angry to happy at somebody noticing them. Just like him. "Of course I'm the famous Beast Man, leader and all together most powerful member of the team."

"Sure you are BM." Cyborg said but he was still glaring at Nightwing but his arm shifted off of its sonic blaster.

"Great our leader would love to meet you."

"Who's your leader?" Nightwing asked.

"Terra."

End Notes: Well, there is the end of the third chapter. I plan on exploring the relationship between Starfire and Robin later on but I figured it would be fun to show how much he has really changed.


	4. Chapter 4

The disclaimer crap is all in the first chapter if you really want to read it that badly then go there and read it. I do however wish to repeat that I do own my own storyline and my characters, which right now include Quanta.

I want to thank everybody who has given me a review because it gives me something to strive for. Also thank you guys for correcting some of the things that I've gotten wrong with my story. Sorry for the long down time between chapters but I got massive writers block. Anyway please read and review.

**From the Ashes**

Chapter 4

Quanta slowly slipped through the crowds in the _Inferno_, careful to keep any of the dirty patrons of the bar from touching her pristine white garments. The young woman was indeed alluring to the men in the bar, but one glance from those cold blue eyes, froze any amorous feelings that any might have had. It wasn't comfortable for any person to get that close to the light.

She stepped up to the bar, but instead of sitting on the dirty stool that was there a chair of light appeared and the blond sunk into it. At the site of this the surrounding patrons moved even farther away. A person using powers so blatantly in a public place could only mean one thing. A person working for Slade.

"Whacha want?" The bartender asked.

"Oh, just a little bit of information and then I will be on my way." Quanta's voice was low and the bartender had to lean close to hear her. "Where can I find an information vender named Guy?"

"I've never heard of a person named Guy." Quanta was used to people lying, and had developed quite a talent for it herself. With that talent came the ability to read people. The subtle turn of the man's eyes as he said that tipped her off. He was lying.

"Oh, but I believe that you do." Quanta felt a heavy hand fall on her shoulders and glanced behind her. A man with the muscles that practically yelled out bouncer and carrying a sparking cattle prod stood behind her.

"The man said that he didn't know. Now let me escort you to the exit." Quanta reached up and caught the man's hand with his own. Bones cracked underneath her fingers as the young woman squeezed and the man yelled in pain.

"There is no reason to do that. If you wanted to talk to me than you only had to ask." Quanta let go of the man and he stumbled backwards, whimpering, and clutching his mangled hand. She glanced around the room and saw Guy sitting only a few yards away. He must have used some trick for Quanta not to see him but that was the way Guy was. "Why don't you come and sit with me."

Quanta rose from her seat and slid down into the seat across from Guy as his eyes looked her up and down. "So how can I help you? Was your last transaction to your complete satisfaction?"

"Nightwing fell for it hook, line, and sinker. I do however have some other information that I want you to pass onto him when he comes next. The money will be sent directly to your account. Actually it would be best if he received it right away even if you have to go outside your normal channels." Quanta placed a disk on the table and slid it across to him. Guy took the disk in his rough fingers but he didn't let his eyes leave her.

"You have to realize that Nightwing would suspect something if I come to him with information, he is reckless at times but he is not an idiot. I won't risk myself for any amount of money."

"Nightwing is desperate for action. I'm sure if you guarantee him than he will come like a moth to the flame." With that Quanta stood and moved to the exit of the _Inferno_.

The small group of rebels moved through the city, staying in the broken parts of Jump City where the presence of a group of armed civilizations would go, if not unnoticed, than at least no one would care. Less people cared for Slade in the city than the tyrant cared to admit. As the group passed by a broken skyscraper pair of men with rifles slid from hiding places in the wreckage and after a quick conversation with the woman leading the group they hurried into the maze of broken buildings.

"What was that all about?" Cyborg asked to his compatriots.

"Their probably telling the people in charge that we're coming." Nightwing said glancing around the area. He hadn't noticed it before but now that he looked closer he could see the small signs of habitation. The rubble had been moved around the streets to block off some and narrow others so that the attackers would have to come through bottlenecks to get at anything. If he looked even closer he could see a couple of rifles sticking out from a few of the windows.

The rebels escorting the Titans led them into one of the buildings. The buildings had been a bank at some time, the sign above the entrance still reading _Jump City Bank_, and looked like it was still in good shape. The inside of the building was full of people, most lying on the ground wrapped in blankets or in other states of rest. Nightwing's sharp eyes were used to spotting weapons and he could see that most of the people who looking like they were sleeping were carrying weapons. The people escorting the Titans moved away from the heroes and Nightwing could see several of the people on the ground gripping their weapons tighter.

"Get ready for anything." Nightwing whispered to Raven. The young woman nodded and her eyes glanced around quickly, preparing to fight if need be. The crowds around them split and a woman there age stepped through. Blond hair shone in the dim lights of the banks and blue eyes looked over the group of super heroes.

"Terra." Beast Man sprung out of the group and caught the newcomer in a crushing hug.

"Hey, BB don't squeeze me so hard, you're crushing me." The shape changer let her down with a smile and the rest of the Titans could see the person that there old friend had become. Her blonde hair had been cut short so that it framed her face, though the bangs were still long enough to cover her eyes. She hadn't grown any taller in the years they hadn't seen her but her body had lost the gawkiness of her teenage years and had filled out into the young woman she was now.

"Actually it's BM now." The green shape shifter said, crossing his arms across his chest.

"You seem to have done well for yourself Terra, leading a rebellion against Slade and everything." Nightwing said cocking his eyebrows at Terra.

"I'm not the only one who had gained a reputation. To have the famous Nightwing with us who takes on Slade's entire army by himself and seems to be winning in quite a spectacular fashion." Terra smiled at him and Nightwing nodded in acceptance of the praise.

"We all do the little that we can."

"Where is Starfire?" Terra asked. "She is still around, right?"

"Little ol Star is just back at the HQ." Cyborg said.

Why don't you guys come into the back room? We can talk with fewer distractions than we will get here." Terra turned and walked into the room she had just entered from. The room that she had led them to had once been the vault of the bank though the heavy door had fallen off of its hinges and leaned on the wall next to the vault entrance.

The only furnishings in the room were a large table surrounded by many beaten chairs. Spread across the face of the table was a map of the city, with large areas circled and writing covering much of the blank area around the edge. A person stood in one of the corners of the room, leaning back against the wall. As soon as they walked in emerald green eyes followed them as they walked in.

Nightwing immediately ran a trained eye over the man and labeled him as dangerous. He wasn't any taller than Nightwing and probably even more slender but underneath his tan skin muscles rippled. Long black hair was caught fell past his shoulders and was back in a ponytail at the back of his neck. He was dressed in blue jeans, a white tee shirt, and a black jacket he wore open at the neck. Next to him a katana in a blue sheath leaned against the wall though the man's hand rested next to the hilt. Just the way that he stood managed to scream warrior.

"This is Shogun." Terra said indicating the man against the wall. "He's what could be considered my right hand man in this case."

"And who are these people?" Shogun asked. He reached down with one hand and grasped the hilt of his weapon. Nightwing noticed that fingerless gloves covered the man's hands, the gloves of a fighter.

"Some of my old friends." Terra motioned them to all sit at the table and everyone drew up chairs.

"Okay enough of this secrety stuff now Terra. I think that its time you tell us when you got out of the stone and why you haven't even tried to find us. It hurts to know that you don't care." Beast Man changed into a small dog and whined pitifully.

"It was quite sudden. We thought that you were still back in the monument." Raven said. "We used to check back every day."

"And then every week, and then every month. But you never seemed to change at all." Cyborg said dropping his head. "We didn't want to stop looking but nothing ever changed and nothing we could figure out ever worked."

"I don't blame you guys. I only woke up a couple of months ago. I don't really know the reason but I just suddenly fell to the ground and when I looked around I had aged almost ten years. The people here were so desperate for a leader that they would take anybody, even a traitor like me. Since then we have been trying to do the most damage possible to Slade but he barely has to commit any real forces to stop us. All we can do is prick him."

"We can't even really do that." Shogun said motioning towards the map. "The red markers are the large concentrations of Slade's forces and the blue spots are the major placements of our forces." Red dominated the map with only two small dots of blue, one at where they were now and the other across the city. "As you can see we are less than a dominating presence."

"So what are your plans?" Nightwing asked. The young crime fighter leaned over the map, his dark eyes scanning the positions of the forces in detail.

"We don't really have that many plans. We just keep doing what we can and when we can, hoping that everything we are doing works out for the best." Terra said.

"If I had a choice I would take the fight right to Slade and cut his dirty masked head off his shoulders with one swipe." Shogun said. He slid the first few inches of blade from the sheath and then slammed it back down with a resounding _clack_.

"And you would be cut down before you ever got close to reaching Slade. It would be pointless." Raven said as she slid the hood back from her face and shook her purple hair out.

"But at least I would be doing something." Shogun grumbled but he stopped play with his weapon.

"Can we talk about this later." Beast Man said. "This stuff is all just boring."

"BM is right. We can talk some more about tactics later on. You guys can stay here tonight if you want to." Terra said, standing from her chair.

"Sounds great." Beats man jumped up from his seat and left the room with Terra, both talking excitedly to each other.

"Maybe we can get something better to eat her than at the HQ. It will be wonderful to eat something besides BM's tofu or Star's alien food." Cyborg said.

"Speaking of star I'll tell her where we are." Raven stood to her feet and pulled her Titan Communicator from inside her cloak.

End notes: Thanks fro reading this next chapter. It took forever for me to actually get this one out mostly because I have a problem with everything, but here it is, even if it was shorter than all the others. And thanks for all the people who e-mailed me to tell me to finish.


	5. Chapter 5

The disclaimer crap is all in the first chapter if you really want to read it that badly then go there and read it. I do however wish to repeat that I do own my own storyline and my characters, which right now include Quanta.

I want to thank everybody who has given me a review because it gives me something to strive for. Also thank you guys for correcting some of the things that I've gotten wrong with my story. Sorry for the long down time between chapters but I got massive writers block. Anyway please read and review.

**From the Ashes**

Chapter 5

"You won't believe how good it is to see you guys." Terra said as she leaned farther back against the edge of her bed. The three female members of the Teen Titans had retired to Terra's bedroom soon after Star had arrived so that they could catch up, and even Raven was happy for the time.

Terra's bedroom was a thrown together affair in one of the upper stories of the many buildings that made up what the rebellion saw as their base, even if it was just the half destroyed buildings that no one else except the truly poor wanted. However the blond woman had managed to find a bed in reasonably good shape and a dresser that still had all of its pieces. Besides the two large pieces of furniture there were several broken back chairs serving in the place of tables, and covered in paper – no doubt reports.

Terra sat beside the bed with her back against it as Starfire lay above her running a comb through the other woman's hair and deftly twisting the golden locks into complicate braids. The young Tamerainian become interested with human hairstyles shortly after the Titans had started to dissolve around Slade's attacks and had spent many a worried night letting the mundane task of braiding take the worries from her mind. Raven, who had cleared off on of the chairs to sit on, was just happy that Star had found someone else to practice on. Braids definitely weren't her style.

"Friend Terra it is truly a joy to see that you are not a stone anymore." Starfire said, the first smile since she had seen Robin again spreading across her face.

"Yeah, it's nice." Agreed Raven.

"Why Raven that almost sounded happy from you. Are you sure you're feeling well." Terra lifted up one hand and pressed it up against the young spellcasters forehead, in a mock gesture of concern.

"Don't expect it too often." Raven growled, but a small smile stayed on her face, taking the bite out of her words.

"Awww, I knew you were just an old softy at heart."

"Beast Man was most happy to see you as well Terra. He was as happy as I have seen him in many _bemongs_." Starfire gathered up a handful of hair to begin another braid and revealed the blush that was spreading across Terra's face and to her neck.

"And if I wasn't seeing things you seemed happy to see him too." Raven said, smiling slyly at her friend. The blush spread even farther and Terra lowered her head, the finished braids obscuring her face.

"Hey, how did I get to be the butt of all these jokes? Besides what about Starfire and Robin. I bet they've been dating for years now." Terra was joking as she said this but the temperature in the room almost seemed to drop a few degrees.

"Robin is not the Robin we used to enjoy company with. Robin is not Robin but Nightwing." Starfire said slowly and she sounded like she was almost on the edge of tears.

"What?" The blonde turned and pulled the braids from Starfire's unmoving hands and stared at her.

"Robin has been calling himself Nightwing now. He left us years ago and we only found him a couple of days ago when he saved me from some of Slade's soldiers." Raven explained.

"But why did he…" Terra started to ask before a small shake of Raven's head stopped her. None of the Titans except for Starfire knew why Robin had left in the first place and she had never shared it with anybody. Whenever somebody tried to ask her she would quickly change the subject.

The mood in the room was tense as Starfire took Terra's hair back into her hands and began to braid the blonde's hair again. The orange hared superhero's face was set into hard lines though there was a slight shimmer in her eyes of unshed tears. Raven had sunk back into her normal blank face completely unreadable though the look of confusion and sorrow for her friend in Terra's face was enough for both of them. A noise from outside the room broke the tension in the room, the sound of metal scraping on metal.

"Oh, crap. I hoped Shogun would take longer to get to this." Terra said, scrambling to her feet, the last braid that Starfire had been working on unraveling in a spray of blonde strands. She hurried over to the window and cursed.

"What has happened with your Shogun?" Starfire asked.

"He got in a fight with Robin …. I mean Nightwing." On the street below the two fighters had crossed weapons with each other, Shogun with his katana and Nightwing with his staff. A small crowd of people had gathered around the two and several of them were shouting out bets on who would win. The Rebels didn't get a chance for much entertainment and a fight was always interesting.

Nightwing grunted as he pushed hard against Shogun's weapon, metal grating against metal as both tried to overpower the other. The two were evenly matched though and neither seemed to gain an advantage over the other. Black eyes met green across the crossed weapons and both of the fighters smiled at each other.

"I have to admit that you're good." Shogun said. He pushed backwards from Nightwing and moved back a few steps, getting some distance between the two fighters.

"I would be lying if I said you weren't too bad yourself." The two crashed back together, metal ringing against metal as they tried to find holes in each others defenses. "But I have more tricks." Nightwing thrust wildly, one handed, and Shogun easily batted the attack to the side. The black hared hero's other hand came around, bringing several of his explosive disks around and towards Shogun.

"So you say." Shogun's left hand let go of the hilt of his weapon and thrust towards the incoming disks. A blast of wind accompanied the thrust and forced the disks into the ground at both of their feet. The explosion threw both backwards though both managed to land on their feet. "Who has the tricks now?"

"So you're a windbag. That won't be enough to beat me." Both warriors drew themselves up for the charge when a yell stopped them.

"Both of you two stop." The crowd parted a Terra stormed through, Raven and Starfire close behind her. "Shogun what did I tell you about this kind of thing?"

Shogun sheathed his blade with one smooth motion and bowed to Terra as she approached. "I am sorry Terra. I just wanted to see how good the famous Nightwing actually was." There was a mark of sorrow to his voice, truly sorry for what he had done. He may live in the modern world but he was in his heart a true samurai and completely devoted to his lady.

"I had to see what kind of fighters this place had before I figure if I'm going to throw my weight behind you. So far I am far from impressed." Nightwing crossed his arms across his armored chest and met Terra's eyes directly.

The young blond girl's blue eyes widened, shocked at the difference between Nightwing and the Robin she remembered. It was quickly over though, the girl had been running a resistance group for the last few months and it had forced her to grow up quick. It would take a lot to shock her again.

"You're not one of my men. What you do isn't my problem though I would like your help."

"I like to work alone." Nightwing turned away from the girl, his cloak whipping out behind him. The circle of rebels parted for him as he walked away. There were a few seconds of silence before Starfire floated into the air and followed after the black hared hero.

"He is a good fighter but something about his eyes scares me." Shogun said, as he adjusted his grip on the sheath of his blade.

"We know him and sometimes he scares us." Cyborg said.

Nightwing slid into one of the many broken buildings that populated the area around the rebel's base and dropped down into a broken back chair. His emotions were a seething storm underneath his calm exterior as he tried to bring himself to terms with what was happening. After Robin had left and become Nightwing he had immersed himself in battles against the worse types of criminals in an attempt to push away his emotions, and if you had asked him a week ago he would have said that he had been successful. Now he wasn't so sure.

He heard something hit against the rubble behind him and he turned, pulling his staff out of his belt as he did. He only saw Starfire standing in front of him. She wasn't even looking at him but the ground, where her booted foot slowly ground a small chunk of concrete to dust.

"What do you want?" Nightwing wasn't happy that the person who stirred up his emotions the most had sought him out and he let it bleed through into his voice.

"I wish for us to do the talking." Starfire was clearly nervous about being here. She had been just as confused as the rest of the Teen Titans when he had left but she had a budding romantic relationship with him as well. His leaving had been a crushing blow to her.

"I don't have anything to talk about with you."

"Well I have some things to talk about with you." Starfire looked up and met his eyes. Her own eyes were glistening with tears and her lip trembled as she tried desperately not to cry. "Such as why you left us. Why you left me." The last words trailed off as she desperately fought off her tears.

"I don't want to …"

"But you will talk about it." Starfire cut off Nightwing, anger now blazing through her voice as the first tears fell from her eyes and stained her cheeks. "Because after the sorrow you caused I deserve the knowledge."

Nightwing scowled at the alien girl in front of him. How dare she ask him to explain his actions to her. It wasn't her business why he left just as it wasn't her business what he chose to do while he was out fighting Slade.

"I don't have to take this." Nightwing stood to his feet and turned away but Starfire was on him before he could take a step, gripping his shoulder with bruising power even with his armor.

"Yes, you do because I will not let you leave this place until I have the information I require." Starfire spun him around and forced him to look into her glowing green eyes, all trace of tears burned away by her anger.

"Back off." Nightwing yelled, threatened as she pressed into the past that he had kept hidden for so long. His foot shot up and caught her in the side. Starfire took the hit without complaint and spun, throwing Nightwing into the side of the building. The young man bounced off the wall and he landed on his feet. Metal slid underneath his fingers as he extended his staff and charged forward. Starfire flew forward, clearly intending to fight him.

Nightwing swung his staff but Starfire swung her arm to meet it. The young Tamerainian's powers were driven by her emotions and her super strength was specifically driven by her anger. At this moment she had never been stronger. The blow hit the staff and bent the metal in half and ripped the weapons from Nightwing's grip, sending it spinning into a wall. A blast of green energy shot of Starfire's eyes and smashed into Nightwing's chest, throwing him into a wall.

Starfire was on him before he could do anything and pinned him against the wall. Nightwing pushed against her arms but it was like trying to move steel girder with his bare hands.

"You will answer me now."

"Fine just let me go." Starfire pulled back from the young man and he looked down at the ground. He seemed to be reluctant to talk about what he had been hiding for so long but Starfire had more patience than he did.

"I was ashamed." Nightwing whispered.

"What do you mean?"

"It was just after I had become Slade's apprentice and attacked you guys. Even after I turned on Slade and beat him with you guys it was impossible for me to just shake off what I had done. I had become a criminal Star. It was something that I despised with all of my heart, but I sank right into the criminal world. And I was good at it Star, I was really good at it." Nightwing's voice was soft in the beginning but as he spoke he seemed to gain some sort of strength.

"I could see what Slade was saying and it all made sense to me. It made so much sense that it scared me. I could see myself turning into something that was just like Slade and I couldn't take that. I wouldn't let that happen."

"But why did you leave your friends? We would have helped you through your troubles." Starfire asked.

"I couldn't look you guys in the face anymore after I turned on you guys. I tried to keep going but I couldn't take it anymore. I always thought you guys couldn't trust me even though I knew that you did completely. And that I really couldn't take. You guys trusting me after I turned. I just didn't deserve it."

"That is why I left. I couldn't take you guys trusting me even when I didn't deserve it." Nightwing stood to his feet and walked past Starfire, unable to look at her.

"Robin you don't have to feel the shame. We just wish you to come back to your friends." Starfire said as she watched him walk away.

"Star my name is Nightwing now. Even if you guys do forgive me you can never change the fact that I'm no longer the same person who used to be your friend." Nightwing's voice was soft in defeat. "And I didn't mean to hurt you Star."

End Note: Well that chapter took forever. I hit college and didn't have much time but I got some time this semester and decide to keep writing.


	6. Chapter 6

The disclaimer crap is all in the first chapter if you really want to read it that badly then go there and read it. I do however wish to repeat that I do own my own storyline and my characters, which right now include Quanta.

I want to thank everybody who has given me a review because it gives me something to strive for. Also thank you guys for correcting some of the things that I've gotten wrong with my story. Sorry for the long down time between chapters but I got massive writers block. Anyway please read and review.

**From the Ashes**

Chapter 6

Terra opened her eyes slowly and a slow smile crept across her face. In this war torn city she didn't get many chances to relax and just enjoy life but this was one of the times. She was warm in the cocoon of blankets on her bed and Beast Man's arm was draped lovingly across her stomach. She closed her eyes and sighed in contentment as she snuggled closer to the green Titan's chest.

The two young adults had found that the small spark all those years ago hadn't diminished at all. When they had seen each other again that spark had still been there and had erupted into a fireball of passion. Last night Terra had taken some time to herself and Beast Man had joined her. The two had spent hours just talking about what had happened since they had been separated though Beast Man had done most of the talking. Late at night the two had retired to Terra's room and shown each other the love that they shared. It had been the most wonderful night of Terra's life. But now they had to both return to reality.

Terra sighed again, though this time in regret, a wiggling out from underneath Beast Man's arm and the covers. The cool air hit her and she shivered at the lost of warmth. The blond quickly slipped a thick blue robe around her slender frame and slid into one of the few chairs that were littered around her room. A pile of reports from last night was scattered across the surface in front of her where she had left them when she had decided to take some time for herself.

Terra quickly scanned through the few that she hadn't managed to get to last night. Starfire had met with Nightwing though nobody knew what they had talked about, though a few people said they had heard the sounds of battle from in the building. Both of the crime fighters had left the building without any obvious signs of injury. Nightwing had not gone back to the room they had given him but he had stayed inside the area that the rebels called their home.

That was something that could cause problems in the future. Both of them were valuable fighters that the rebels could really use. If they couldn't pull together though there wouldn't be any help and might even cause more problems than they were worth. Terra was friends with both of the Superheroes but she had to look out for the lives of the hundreds under her command and there safety took precedence.

Terra quickly dressed in her normal clothes, baggy camouflage pants, a black top that showed her midriff, her goggles and tennis shoes. She glanced back over her shoulder and smiled as she watched Beast Man sleep. After all of this fighting was over she was going to have to spend some real time with him.

The young leader stopped by what they had titled the mess hall, although one might only say that it was a temporary room that worked as the mess hall for the resistance movement. Getting a cup of coffee before continuing her rounds. Before this whole mess had started she couldn't stand the stuff but it was warm and woke her up. After that she stepped into the back room of the bank. Shogun stood over the huge map in the room, his fingers tracing over the surface of the map as he muttered to himself.

"Why am I not surprised to see you in here." Terra said as she sat down beside the table that the map rested on. The young blond blew on the surface of her coffee to try and cool it down before she took a large gulp, the warm liquid filling her with delicious warmth.

"Well you know me, always at work." Shogun said as he continued to move his fingers over the maps surface as if he were moving armies that only he could see.

"So what has our genius tactician come up with for us today? How about a way that we can actually win a battle and stop this war." Blue eyes glanced at the map, trying to figure out what he was seeing.

"Maybe." His voice was slightly distracted as he continued to look at the map.

"What do you mean?" His answer surprised Terra and she placed her drink to the side. She ran her eyes over the map again, trying to find what her second in command had seen.

"Several of Slade's factories are in Jump City because this is where he started out. It's not the best place for them but it was easier to just expand the old factories when he started the war than to actually make new ones." Shogun pointed out several points on the map.

"The security is too heavy for us to breach though. We tired once remember."

"We did, but I wasn't talking about attacking the factories. I just pointed them out because of what they mean to use. Slade has to transport these war machines and because he can't afford anybody on the front he has to use some the soldiers and robots that he has here to move them."

"It won't leave anything major open enough to hit."

"Not by itself but if we can draw some of the soldiers out we may be able to launch a surgical strike on Slade himself. With how fast Slade has expanded a lot of his power rests in himself and his ability to push his troops into battle."

Terra looked at Shogun's face. She wasn't quite sure where he was going with this. Slade knew they couldn't launch a big enough attack for him to really bother with even if they attacked something. This had to mean that the Rebellion had something new that would let them draw Slade out. The Titans. Slade wouldn't be able to resist a chance to kill the last real Superheroes in Jump City. Everything would be thrown at the Titans until Slade managed to kill them.

"No. I can't just sacrifice them like that." Terra shut her eyes tightly and shook her head, trying to fight off the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. All of the memories of the first time she had betrayed the Teen Titans were flashing through her mind, the looks on their faces as they found out, the pain she felt, everything. She couldn't just throw away there lives.

"Terra I know how you feel but the tidings from the war front are getting worse. The forces fighting Slade are holding him but he is getting stronger. He didn't secure what he had taken because of his rapid advance but now he has time. He is consolidating what he took and when he does he can send everything to the war front. We can't let that happen. If we drop him now then it will make it possible to win." Shogun grabbed Terra's chin and forced her to look into his eyes. Terra could see the young samurai's sorrow at what he had said. He hadn't known the Titan's very long but he hated to throw away lives.

"I betrayed them before and this would be me betraying them again. I can't do that." Terra whispered, pulling her face from his hand.

"Terra we have more to worry about than five people. Everyone in the Rebellion, hell everyone in the world might ride on whether we can destroy Slade or not. We have to take this chance."

Terra heaved a deep sigh as she ran her eyes over the map in a desperate attempt to see something that her new friend hadn't. It was futile and she knew it. She couldn't do it again though. To betray her friends, to destroy Beast Boy's heart again would take a far crueler person than Terra. As her mind moved through her various options Shogun watched her, giving her the time she needed to think. Finally Terra stood.

"I'm rejoining the Titans. If they agree to this than I am going with them." Shogun opened his mouth to argue but he could see from the look in her eyes that she wouldn't take no for an answer.

"While you do this I will lead a small force against Slade's palace. We should be able to break in and I will take Slade's head myself. I promise you." Shogun picked up his sword from the table.

"You better." The two comrades in arms hugged tightly, Terra burying her head in his shoulder. The two had grown close during the time they had been together and this mission would probably kill one or both of them in the end. Shogun pulled back a little and brushed an errant blond hair away from Terra's face.

"Now that we've got that unfortunate business out of the way why don't you tell me about this Beast Man? I heard rumors that he may have been in your room all night." Shogun raised one eyebrow and Terra laughed. Both sat down as they talked, trying to forget about what they were both going to have to do soon.

End Note: That is Chapter 6. I've decided to go to shorter chapters because it helps me get information out to you guys fast and it also helps me avoid writer's block by cutting things up into smaller chunks. Anyway please read and review because it only makes me better.


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